I Want My 32" LCD TV

ViewSonic NW3200: 0 To 255 In 18 Ms

The ViewSonic N3200W's LCD panel is remarkable in more than one way. First, it conformed to the announced ISO latency level during our tests, which is becoming rare in these days of off-the-wall specifications. Then, the latency never exceeded 24 ms, which is even more of a rarity for a panel of this size. It's quite comparable to an excellent 8ms 19" model, with the possible exception of sudden black/white transitions, where the 8ms maintains a certain advantage.

Video Quality

For video, we found the default adjustments a little too warm. It would be a good idea to choose a color temperature that's a little less warm to get good reproduction of flesh tones when screening movies. The brightness was acceptable. However, we do advise you to stay below an adjustment of 39 on the OSD to avoid losing quality in the blacks. The image is plenty bright enough, and we're against excessive brightness since it fatigues the eyes. We noted a little video noise and you'll need to keep a certain minimum distance from the screen to really appreciate its qualities. The picture was sharp - which is a good thing because the sharpness adjustment dramatically increased the level of visible video noise.

Interpolation

Unfortunately, this model also falls short in this department. Interpolation is clearly an area that needs work where 30- and 32" models are concerned. The ViewSonic was no worse than the others, but a small form factor PC will obviously be a good idea if you want to get the most out of this set. In video games on a console, images remained fairly jagged. We look forward to the day when consoles move to high definition or adopt decent scaling capabilities.

Sound Quality

Despite the small speakers, we found the N3200W's sound more than just acceptable. Indeed, it did better in this area than most of its competitors. Bass was good but not excessive. The sound had balance and contrast. This is a real achievement, considering that sound is an area manufacturers often neglect.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the N3200W impressed us. Its design and finish make it an exceptional piece of equipment and its image qualities are respectable for a 32" model. The sound is also good. Obviously there's the problem of interpolation, but in that department we haven't seen a 30/32" model yet that offered a decent performance.